Having a Very Zehner Christmas 2010 - Original Letter

Having a Very Zehner Christmas

2010

Hello and Merry Christmas to All!  First of all I want you all to note the size of this Christmas letter! It is the front and back of one page only with an agreeable sized font! Is it not one of the smallest ones you’ve seen from us in a while? Probably the only one smaller is the year that I used the graph to tell of the kids’ activities. (I loved that one!) Well, for those of you who know me best, you are aware that every year I threaten never to write another one of these things!  Seriously, who really wants to read’em anyway! Well, according to several of you….you do! In fact, some of you have stated that you really even look forward to them! I have also had some other well meaning comments about them like, “put more in them about you and Don”, and “use a bigger font, geech!” The best one happened recently at my 30 year college reunion just last month. One of the ladies was making fun of just these types of letters, then noticed me right behind her and said, “Oops!!” It was absolutely hilarious, and I think she did it on purpose! But, also it was a true commentary on these things; they are long and sometimes even laborious to get through!!! Yet, they can be fun and entertaining, and you get to catch up on all the various Zehner activities. So, how to please both types of friends and family?

We think we’ve come up with a plan….a very “Zehner-ish” type of plan, one that will make this Christmas a “Very Zehner Christmas” for us! We are going to start a Zehner Holiday Blog! Why not use all that computer knowledge and techno experience that is just waiting to be harnessed around here. This way those of you who are truly interested in all of the comings and goings of us Zehners can log on to it! Others who prefer just a short synopsis can be done after getting through this smaller tome! What do you think? Ingenious is it not? Maybe there will even be pictures and commentary from the kids! Now, let’s hope by the time I finish this letter

someone has set that up for me because Ms. Techno I am not! I am sure you all know that Don and the kids are always on the cutting edge of every type of technology, so I am depending on one or more of them! Why didn’t we think of this before!! Hopefully, at the end of this message you will see the website of the blog where you can log on and check out the longer version of this year! If not…..well, there is always next year!! In the meantime, here is a short preview of the types of things you’ll hopefully be able to read about in the blog, (I have taken the liberty of highlighting the most important thoughts so that even the “skimmers” in the group can get through this particular letter quickly!! I did it with you in mind Linda Smith, LOL!):

Arin, Shawn and Mason are expecting again at the end of January! According to Mason they are having a baby “bruver” for him! It really is another boy according to the ultrasound! The factory Shawn worked at closed its doors in October, but Arin received a promotion at her job in November. Mason started two year old preschool and has basically become a “parrot”. (I’d highly recommend being cautious of what you say around him these days!) All things considered it looks to be a very exciting and busy 2011 for the Shavers!

Jordan returned from Spain in June and headed to the University of Wisconsin in Madison in August. She began working toward a Masters Degree in Spanish almost immediately upon arrival! Her education there is basically all being financed by the University, her only requirement is that she has to teach one class of Spanish 102. She is entirely on her own doing this….no other professor is in class with her. The first thing she learned was that teaching English in Spain for a year did not help her mastery of Spanish grammar! But, the most important thing that has happened is that Jordan has finally come to grips with the fact that she does indeed enjoy teaching kids of any or all ages and nationalities!

     

Lauren is still in the greater Los Angeles area. She had to move from Burbank to Toluca Lake, CA but that was basically only a block away! The story of that adventure would take up a whole page by itself, but for those of you who know her well, you would find it very typically Lauren-esque! She continues to take acting classes, work a bit, and spend her parent’s money! But, she has also gotten an agent and made some nice connections and friends. As a result, she is having a great time and has even begun to audition a little as well as attend some small awards functions. Some of the people she has met and hung out with are cast members from Entourage, Glee and Sunny with a Chance to name a few. Lauren received some great free goodie bags at those awards functions too! Keep working at it Lauren, if anyone can do it you can!

Peyton is a senior in high school this year!! Can you believe it? Those four years of high school go awfully fast! She continues to swim and play tennis at LHS with great success. She is still hopeful that she will be able to continue swimming at the college level, but where is still up in the air! I think her father has convinced her to go into accounting instead of something medical as far as a college goes, as in his words, “she has such a great problem solving mind”. To this end let’s hope she picks the right school! To help the process Peyton has even begun to take her studies a bit more seriously and has finally made it to the top 10% of her class! Another goal in Peyton’s life has always been to achieve things her siblings have not and in this regard she continues to excel! Peyton is her father’s daughter in so many ways!

Bryan is a freshman and is also at LHS. He has finally achieved second tallest honors in the family without any more debate. He comes in at 5’9” and a whole 123 lbs.  He made his début on the high school tennis team playing number one singles J.V. and has improved steadily since then with indoor tennis this fall. He also surprised us all by joining the high school swim team just last week! He told us all it was because Peyton had inspired him in her 100 freestyle race the night before, but who knows with him! We’ll see how that pans out as he quit swimming on the club team at the age of 8!  His best talent is still his video gaming, but as a result of his recent study strategies, or lack there of, he is currently not participating in any of that!!

There you have it, a short prequel to the longer letter! You will find out a little bit more about Don and me too…if you read the new blog. I’ll talk about our summer family trip to Madison, Wisconsin. I’ll also review the Spanish trip I took to visit Jordan in March with my sister Jackie and Aunt Lynne. Perhaps, I will espouse on the continual joy of renting a cabin at Culver/Lake Maxinkuckee for the summer as well. I don’t know as I haven’t written it yet!  To see what else has happened in 2010 you’ll just have to log onto: 

http://zehnerholidayblog.blogspot.com/

Hey…..they did it for me! Now, let me know if it works!! Have a great 2011!! Love to you all!!

From all of us….The Don Zehner Jr., Family